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Janna MacGregor

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Rules for Engaging the Earl: The Widow Rules Kindle Edition

by Janna MacGregor (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 337 ratings

Book 2 of 3: The Widow Rules

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Get ready for lost wills, broody dukes, and scorching hot kissing all over London in Rules for Engaging the Earl by Janna MacGregor.

Constance Lysander needs a husband. Or, so society says. She’s about to give birth to her late husband’s child—a man who left her with zero money, and two other wives she didn’t know about. Thankfully, she has her Aunt by her side, and the two other wives have become close friends. But still—with a baby on the way, her shipping business to run, and an enemy skulking about, she has no time to find the perfect match.

Enter Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston. Returned war hero and Constance’s childhood best friend, his reentry into society has been harsh. Maligned for an injury he received in the line of duty, Jonathan prefers to stay out of sight. It’s the only way to keep his heart from completely crumbling. But when a missive from Constance requests his presence—to their marriage ceremony—Jonathan is on board. His feelings for Constance run deep, and he’ll do anything to make her happy, though it means risking his already bruised heart.

With Constance, Jonathan, and the new baby all together, it’s clear the wounds—both on the surface and in their relationship—run deep. But when the nights come, their wounds begin to heal, and both come to realize that their marriage of convenience is so much more than just a bargain.

Praise for Janna MacGregor:

"Janna MacGregor dazzles." —Eloisa James

"Janna MacGregor's stories positively sparkle." —Christi Caldwell

From the Publisher

Rules for Engaging the Earl Janna MacGregor Eloisa James quote

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A moving tale of hope and redemption." -Kirkus

About the Author

Janna MacGregor writes stories where compelling and powerful heroines meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes. She is the mother of triplets and lives in Kansas City with her very own dashing rogue, and two smug, but not surprisingly, perfect pugs.

Rosalyn Landor is an English-born television, theater, and multiple-award-winning audiobook narrator. Her television credits include Love in a Cold Climate, Rumpole of the Bailey, Sherlock Holmes, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She has won numerous Audie awards and AudioFile magazine Earphones awards.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09HPLVJTJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Paperbacks (April 26, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 26, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3737 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 378 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1250761611

Best Sellers Rank: #591,864 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,744 in Historical Regency Fiction
- #11,308 in Regency Historical Romance
- #14,059 in Romantic Comedy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 337 ratings

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Janna MacGregor

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Janna MacGregor was born and raised in the bootheel of Missouri. She credits her darling mother for introducing her to the happily-ever-after world of romance novels. Janna writes stories where compelling and powerful heroines meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes. She is the mother of triplets and lives in Kansas City with her very own dashing rogue, and a smug, but not surprisingly, perfect pug. She loves to hear from readers.

Visit her at www.JannaMacGregor.com.

Twitter: @JannaMacGregor

Facebook: Janna MacGregor

Sign up for her newsletter at www.JannaMacGregor.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

337 global ratings

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Julie-ann Ford

Story of overcoming the past to embrace true love

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

Rules for Engaging the Earl is the second in The Widow Rules series but can be read as a stand alone story. This is a story of overcoming past devastation and betrayals to embrace a second chance at true love. Constance and Jonathan were childhood best friends who supported each other after both lost their parents to the influenza that swept through Portsmouth. As Constance was preparing to enter society, Jonathan was recruited by the British army due to his fluency in French, Spanish and German languages plus his expertise in shooting. Although separating, they promised to always be there if the other was in need. Now years later, she is about to give birth to her late husband's child but has learned that she is one of three wives of a trigamist which will make her child illegitimate. Jonathan has not been in society since he was injured in the war but rushes to Constance's aid and agrees to marry her. Both have carried a torch for the other since childhood but trust issues, secrets and outside influences threaten to destroy the relationship and family they are building. This is a beautifully written story with a range of emotions to keep you reading until the last page. The secondary characters add to the story from a matchmaking butler and staff, a precocious toddler and mastiff that is one the family to friends who become closer than family.

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Mai

beautiful and heartwarming

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

The plot is a typical romantic story, but the flow of how the main characters evolved and grow is simply endearing. It’s a kind of story that hugs you, let you feel the struggle of insecurities, self doubt and self worth. I love the h, she is brave and not a damsel. I like how the author portray her muse - the H- his a likable character and the author did justice to his character thru this book. Well done.

One person found this helpful

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LeCoop13

Enchanting!

Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2023

Verified Purchase

Rules For Engaging the Earl, book 2 in Janna MacGregor’s The Widow Rules series was an enchanting read! I love Constance Lysander and her story of love lost and found with Jonathan, the Earl of Sykeston! Best friends when they were young, they were separated by war. When he returned Jonathan was a changed man, and Constance was married. After her debacle with her first husband, she asks Jonathan to marry her, saving her reputation. But in truth she saves him from himself, by proving to him he is worthy of love. But will it be enough!

Jonathan’s story is difficult, but Constance and her friends make him realize his life is not over. When he makes mistakes they tell him, and he realizes that he needs to stand up and fight for what he wants, or risk losing it all!

Author MacGregor has written such wonderful characters. Her secondary characters, Auralia, Regina and North, make the story even better, with cuteness and humor. I can’t wait to read the final book in this top-notch series!

Helpful

Sarah M

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2022

‘Constance Lysander needs a husband. Or, so society says. She’s about to give birth to her late husband’s child―a man who left her with zero money, and two other wives she didn’t know about. Thankfully, she has her Aunt by her side, and the two other wives have become close friends. But still―with a baby on the way, her shipping business to run, and an enemy skulking about, she has no time to find the perfect match.

Enter Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston. Returned war hero and Constance’s childhood best friend, his reentry into society has been harsh. Maligned for an injury he received in the line of duty, Jonathan prefers to stay out of sight. It’s the only way to keep his heart from completely crumbling. But when a missive from Constance requests his presence―to their marriage ceremony―Jonathan is on board. His feelings for Constance run deep, and he’ll do anything to make her happy, though it means risking his already bruised heart.

With Constance, Jonathan, and the new baby all together, it’s clear the wounds―both on the surface and in their relationship―run deep. But when the nights come, their wounds begin to heal, and both come to realize that their marriage of convenience is so much more than just a bargain.’
__________________

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.

Rules for Engaging the Earl is the second book in Janna MacGregor’s The Widow Rules series and is a historical romance with an underlying mystery.

This was a sweet story and the first Janna MacGregor book that I have read. This is the second book in the series, so I wasn’t sure whether starting here would impede my reading at all. I don’t believe it did, I didn’t feel like I was missing any key information at any point and so I would say that this can easily serve as a standalone book.

Individually I liked the two main characters, but together they annoyed me. I do think that they were a sweet pairing and it’s lovely that they got their second chance, but sometimes throughout the book I really wondered if it was worth it. To start the marriage really only comes about as a request to help the other, before the vows can happen the circumstances change and that help is no longer necessary. But just go for it anyway, I guess? He then abandons her for a year and the worst part is that she is under the impression that it is for noble reasons, which results in a horrible revelation for her down the road. The patience she showed was commendable, but it made the hero distinctly unlikable for me. Like maybe this is being too forgiving. I felt that he should have had to work so much harder to prove himself after that crap.

I found the book quite slow to start and the page time with the two main characters together to be quite limited, extremely so in the whole first half. So a slow start the the plot felt pretty stationary, but once these two started interacting regularly it picked up the pace a bit and the plot felt like it was working toward something-bringing these two together and discovering who is responsible for slandering Jonathan’s reputation regarding his conduct during the war.

Despite the slow stat, I enjoyed the book and think that I will be reading the next book in the series.
_____

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for sharing an eARC of Rule for Engaging the Earl with me. This is my honest review.

Helpful

Pamela R Mitchell

A must-read for anyone who enjoys Regency romance

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

A must-read for anyone who enjoys well crafted Regency Romance with unforgettable characters and an incredible story that immediately pulled me into the middle of all that was happening and kept me totally immersed until I read the last word. I loved the second chance romance between Constance and Jonathan who had been childhood friends. The secondary characters, especially Regina, the English Mastiff and North the butler added so much to my reading pleasure. Janna MacGregor never disappoints whatsoever and blew me away with Rules for Engaging the Earl, book two in the Widow Rules series and now I am looking forward to book three from this gifted author.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review. I enjoyed it so much, I purchased a copy to read again later.

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